Orange Suffocate Aztecs

The Associated Press

11/11/2012

Syracuse won their season opener aboard the USS Midway over San Diego State 62-49. Michael Carter-Williams, C.J. Fair and Brandon Triche paced the Orange offense, while the zone stifled the Aztecs all game.

The Orange (1-0) effectively put it away when Fair made a jumper to make it 17-4 with 11:30 to go in the first half. He had nine points at that point.

Syracuse was just too tall and bulky for the Aztecs (0-1), who couldn't crack the Orange's 2/3 zone.

Of the three games on ships this year, this was the only one that was completed. On Friday night, the Marquette-Ohio State game on the USS Yorktown in Charleston, S.C., was canceled and the Georgetown-Florida game on the USS Bataan in Jacksonville was called off at halftime, both because of condensation on the court.

This game was postponed from Friday night due to the threat of rain.

It wasn't without some minor glitches.

The wood court bubbled near one basket, forcing workers to sand, seal and dry the area. The shot clock above that basket didn't work and the score and official time had to be kept at the scorer's table because the scoreboards didn't always work correctly.

Whether it was Syracuse's zone or the wind coming off the Pacific Ocean, the Aztecs shot horribly. They went 17 for 63 (27 percent) from the field, including only 1 for 18 (5.6 percent) from 3-point range. From the line, SDSU made just 14 of 33 (42.4 percent).

In last year's Carrier Classic on the USS Carl Vinson across San Diego Bay from the Midway, Michigan State made just 2 of 20 3-pointers in a 67-55 loss to North Carolina.

Syracuse was 25 of 56 (44.6 percent) from the floor. It took only four 3-pointers, making one, and took 19 free throws, making 11 for 57.9 percent.

Fair had 10 rebounds to help Syracuse grab a 45-44 edge on the boards.

Jamaal Franklin led SDSU with 11 points. SDSU's only lead was 2-0 on Xavier Thames' runner in the lane Fair then made two free throws and a baseline jumper and hulking freshman DaJuan Coleman had a tip-in for his only points as the Orange took control.

Brandon Triche scored 15 for the Orange, whose biggest lead was 54-37 with 4:35 left.